Bottle cap reshaping device



Jan. 9, 1945. R. H. ESSEX BOTTLE CAP RESHAPING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Aug. 24, 1942 zlwumvbom I Roy A. fssex @v 6 h W 0 A M attom wu Jan. 9, 1945.

R. H. ESSEX BOTTLE CAP RESHAPING DEVICE Filed Aug. 24 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 i i \\\\\\\\\\Ill.W///

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Patented Jan. 9, 1945 U TA s PATENT OFFICE BOTTLE CAP RnsHArmG DEVICE Ray Hi Essex, Fort Worth, lex Application August2 4, 1942, Serial No. 455,912

This inventionrelates to new anduseful improvements in bottle cap reshaping devices.

As is well known, metallic bottle caps or crowns have beenin general usefor capping bottles containing various types of beverages. v'I'hese caps 4 or crowns are criginally manufacturedof a par.- ticular shape which permits the usual cork seal disks to be inserted into said caps or crowns by the usual automatic machineryand also permits said caps to be applied to the bottles by the ordi- :l nary bottling equipment. The cap oricrown has i a crimped marginal edge portion which is, prior to insertion of the cork'andapplication of the cap to the bottle, flaredoutwardly and during the capping operation, this flared, crimped edge portion is engaged around the bottle neck, being disposed below the usual annular bead on said bottle neck. Obviously, the] capping operation v id e an improved device, of the character de-f scribed, wherein thepressure means isreadily adjustable to vary the pressure which is applied to the cap or crown duringthe reshaping operation; the adjustmentof said means also com pensating for caps of different thicknesses and material, wherebythedevice may be employed in reforming substantially all kinds of caps or crowns. i V i i A further object of the invention is to pro- "vide an improved device, of the character dedistorts the cap or crown from its original shape and the removal of the cap or crown, when the bottle is opened by the consumer, adds further to the distortion of said cap. Also, after removal from the bottle the cap may become twisted or bent and thus, in every instance, the used cap or crown has lost its original shape, with the result that it cannot be reused until it is re-formed and returnedto such original shape.

It is one object of the present invention to pro vide an improved device which is extremely U simple in construction for accurately reshaping and straightening used metallic bottle caps or crowns so as to return said crowns to their original shape, whereby the usual cork sealing disk may be insertedby the ordinary, automatic machinery and also whereby: the re-formed crowns may be readily applied to bottles by the i bottle capping machinery now in general "use.

An important object of the invention istopro- .vide an improved bottle cap reshaping device ing operation, but also has means forpositively holding said cap centered during the entire 0 i pressing operation, whereby misalinement, of the cap atany time during the reforming operation isiprevented. A i

LAO

vention;

scribed, wherein a single female die isarranged to coact with a male die to reshape the capor crown, the male die, being constructed of two pieces or ,elements which at times function separately and at other "times function as, a unit, to first, accurately alin'eyor center thecap or crown within the female die, then maintain said cap in proper position, and finally to press or reform said cap into its original "shape.

Still another object of the invention is to pro vide an improved reshaping device, of the characterdescribed, wherein the pressure applying i means may; be actuated either by manual or by power means and also wherein the reforming dies may be plain to re-press the cap or crown into its original shape without destroying the usual crimping of the cap,or said dies may have cooperating recesses and'projections which function to reshape the crimping during the reforming operation. a i i A construction designed to carry out the features of the invention 'will be hereinafterdescribed;'together with other features of the in- The invention'will be more readily understood from a reading of the following specification and by reference to the accompanying" drawings, wherein an example of i the invention is shown,

and wherein: i

Figure]. is an elevation of a cap re-shaping device, constructed in accordance with the invention, y, i

Figure 2 is an enlarged View, partly in elevation and partly in section of the device and clearly illustrating the dies thereof;

Figure-3 is a horizontal, cross-sectionalyiew,

taken on the line 33 ,ofFigure 2, W

Figure 4 is an enlarged view, partly within thefeznale'dieand illustrating the movable; or male die in a{ raised position prior to i 1 i i 1 operation, l A particular object oif the, invention is to pro- 55 Figure 5 isa similanv iew showing the initial in section and'partly in elevation and showing a cap placed movement and action of the movable or mal die, Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure and illustrating the next step in the pressing operation,

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figures 4 to 6 and extending base portion II which is preferably, made integral therewith. The body is provided with an outwardly directed base flange I 2 whereby the device may be secured by bolts I3 to "a suitable support (not shown). A vertically ex- :tending sleeve or cylinder I4 is disposed in vertical alinement with the base portion II and is formed integral with a web l5 which is, in turn, formed integral with the body It (Figure 3). The base portion ll of the body has a recess l6 formed therein and this recess is adapted to receive a femaledie A, whichdie includes a base I 1 having an upstanding annular flange l8 integral therewith. The inner upper end of the flange l8 which forms the side wall of the die is inclined or beveled at 19 andobviously, the interior of the female die A is of a predetermined shapein accordance withthe shape into which the bottle cap or crown C which is insertable within said die, is to be pressed or formed. The female die A is disposed in axial alinement with the vertical cylinder l4 which is mounted thereabove.

A maledie unit Bis arranged to coact with the female die A and is constructed of two separate elements which cooperate with each other. The

7 male die includes an elongate sleeve 20 which is slidable within the cylinder 14 and the lower end of this sleeve is beveled or inclined as shown at 2|, such inclination being complementary to the bevel or incline IQ of the female die A.

the sleeve and extends. radially inwardly into a recess 24 which is formed in the exterior surface of the piston. Manifestly, the sleeve and the piston may undergo relative movement with respect to each other, as limited by the length of the recess 24. Normally, as will be hereinafter explained, the screw 23 is at the lower end of the recess, with the result that the lower end of the piston 22 projects a slight distance below the lower end of the sleeve 20. The upper end of the jpiston22 extends upwardly above the upper end of the sleeve 20 and is externally screw threaded as shown at 25.

The upper end of the sleeve 20 is' also formed with external screw threads 26' whereby a collar 21 may be threaded thereon. The upper projecting end of the piston 22' has a similar collar 28-also threaded thereon and a coiled spring 29 which surrounds the upper projecting end of the piston is confined between the collars 2-1 and 2-8; Manifestly, the spring is constantly exerting its For actuating the male die B formed by the sleeve 20 and the piston 22 so as to move the die vertically within the cylinder 14, a cap member 30' engages over the collar 28 which is threaded onto the piston 22 and this member is secured to said collar by screws 3! which are threaded through the cap member and which engage I'B', cesses 32 formed in the periphery of the collar 28. The cap member is formed with upwardly projecting ears 33 which receive the inner end of an actuating lever 34, said lever being pivotally secured to the ears by suitable pin 35. The lever 34 is also mounted on a pivot pin 36 which is mounted .in the upper, bifurcated end of an-upstanding bracket 31 which is preferably madeintegral with the body III of the device. The outer end of the lever 34 projects "a considerable dis tance beyond the pivot pin 36 and manifestly, when the lever 34 isswung the male die B is moved through the cylinder l4. Itmight be noted that since the lever 34 has a direct connection,

I of the male die unit.

As is well known, the usual metallic cap consists of a top portion 40 (Figure 8) having an annular flange or skirt 4|. When this capis applied to a bottle, the annular skirt or flange which has crimping 42 formed therein is engaged around the neck of the bottle so that said skirt or flange is substantially straight, or at substantially a right angle 'to the top portion 40 of the cap. The application of the cap or crown to'the bottle naturally distorts the flange. or skirt 4-! from its original shape, that is, the shape which j said cap had prior to its application to the bottle. The original shape of the cap or crown C is illustrated in Figure 9', the top portion 40 being substantially flat'with the skirt 41 having a substantially vertical straight portion indicated at Ma and the marginal portion of said skirt or flange being flared or beveled outwardly as indi- .cated at 42a. The cap or crown must have substantially the shape shown in Figure 9 in order that it might be handled by the usual automatic equipment which isused to insert the cork sealing disk'into said cap and also so that it may be subsequently applied to a bottle with the ordinary bottle cappingmachi-nery; therefore, the problem has been to reshape the usedcap to the original shape which saidcap had when originally manufactured. v

In the operation of the; present device, the cap C which, of course, has been previously used and has been removed froin'a. bottle, is inserted within the. female die A. The cap. may or may'not have the usual cork sealing disk therein andas illustrated, the cork disk is removed. Because of the factthat the cap orcmwn C is distorted, twisted" or bent, it. will not fit perfectly within the female die 'A, with the result that when'said.

cap or crown is placed within. said die it is dis-v posed at an angle therein. If asolid male die were forced into the female die immediately following the caps insertion thereinto, the cap or crown would not be properly re-formed because of its misalinement within the femaledie and therefore, it is essential that after thecap C is inserted into the die A, as shown in Figure 4, said cap be alined within said die before the pressure is applied to the cap. w l

With the present device, after the cap is inserted within the die A, the lever 34 is swung to urge the male die unit B downwardly. As explained, the lever imparts movement to the piston 22 because 'of its direct connection therewith, and the sleeve 20 is moved through the spring 29 acting, n the collar of saidsleeve. So long as there is noresistance tothe movement of the sleeve I 20, the spring 29, in effect, locks the piston 22 and thesleeve 20 together, wherebythese parts move downwardly as a unit. As the male die unit moves downwardly, it reaches the position shown in Figure and theextending or projecting lower end of the piston 22 first enters the cap C. A continued downward movement. .causes the informed, it is apparent that the cap or crownis re-shaped or re-formed so that it is returned to its original shape, that is, the shape which said crown had prior to its application to a bottle.

After the cap or crown has been re-shaped, the operating lever 34 is swung so as to raise the male die unit B and when this occurs, the

, sleeve 20 will be slid downwardly relative to the piston 22 and to its original position, such movement being effected by the spring 29. Manifestly, in the event that the cap or crown should tend to' adhere or stick'to the end of the male die upon the upstroke thereof, this sliding moveclinedlower end 2| of the sleeve to engage the highest point of the misalined cap C, such point being indicated at 43 in Figure 5. After this engagement of the sleeve 2| with the edge of the cap,the continued movement of the male die unit B results in the capC being pressed downwardly into the female die A so as. to be,

properly centered or ,alined therein. This proper alinement is of course aided by the engagement of the projecting lower end of the piston 22 within thecap C. When the cap or crown C has been properly alined within the female, die A, the engagement of the annular edge of the skirt or flange of the cap with thelower end of the sleeve 20 sets up a resistance to the continued movement of the sleeve. This resistance, at this time is greater than the force of the spring 29 with the result that a continued swinging of the lever 34 will result in a movement of the inner piston 22 independently of the sleeve 20, whereby, the lower end of the piston 22 further moves into the crown or cap, as illustrated in Figure 6. This independent movement of the piston is, permitted by the connection between the sleeve, 20,

l and piston 22, such connection being through the screw 23 and recess24. At the same time, the independent movement of the piston 22 results in a compression of the spring 29,, whereby the force of the spring being exerted upon the sleeve 2i] Iisgradually increased.

When the spring 29 haspbeen compressed sufficiently to overcome the resistance set up, by

the cap engaging the lower end of the sleeve 20, 1

the sleeve and piston 22 are again moved together and as a single unit. By, this time, the lowerend of the piston 22 hasentered the crown or capa sufilcient distance, to prevent any movement or misaline ment of the cap within the die. The

subsequent simultaneous movement of the piston 22 and sleeve 20 results in the pressure beingapplied throughout the entire surface of the cap or brown, whereby said cap is re-shaped or pressed into the position shown in Figure '7. It

is noted that this final movement of the male die unit is limited by the lower end of the piston 22 striking the inverted top 40 of the cap and therefore, the previous adjustment of ,the spring determines the pressure which the sleeve 20will exert upon the marginal edge portion of the cap. The spring is so'adjusted that the sleeve exerts suflicient pressure to flare this marginal portion but not a sufficient pressure to flatten the usual crimps in said marginal portion. Because of the fact that the dies A and B are properly 3 ment of the sleeve relative to the piston will act as an automatic discharge means for removing the cap from the male die.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that an effective and simple re-shaping device is provided. The sleeve .20 and piston 22are so connected that they function either as a unit or independently of eachkother toprovide the improved results.

Upon initial movement, the sleeve and piston move together until the sleeve strikes the highest point of the misalined cap or crown and such engagement results in a proper centering or alining of the cap within the die. Following the initial alinement of the cap within the female die,

the piston 22 moves independently of the sleeve so as to enter the cap or crown a suflicient distance to maintain the same in alinement. Subse: quent movement results in the piston and sleeve moving as a unit to perform the pressing operation, whereby the top is properly re-shaped or reformed.

The spring 29 which functions to connect the piston and sleeve is readily adjustable by ad justing the collars 21 and 28 between which said ,spring is confined. By adjusting this spring and changing its tension, the independent movement of the piston 22 with respect to the sleeve may be controlled and this makes it possible to re-shape caps of various wall thicknesses; Ob-

viously, if the spring tension is increased, the

piston 22 will undergo a more limited or shorter independent movement before the sleeve 21!! overcomes the resistance set up by the cap when the 7 parts are in the position shown in Figure 6,

with the result that the end of the sleeve 20 will travel a greater distance after the tension of the spring overcomes the resistance of said cap and therebycaps of thinner wall thicknesses may be re-formed. If the spring tension is reduced, the piston 22 will have to travel a further distance in order to compress the spring 29 to the point where the sleeve 20 may overcome the resistance set up by the cap, with the result that subsequent travel of the sleeve is reduced and caps of greater wall thicknesses maybe rershaped. This adjustment not only makes possible the reshaping of caps or crowns having different wall thicknesses but also permits a variation. in the pressure applied by the sleeve, as Well as permitting a used crown to be re-shaped either with l or without the usual cork (not shown) mounted within said cap or crown.

In Figures 1 to 7, the male and female dies A and B have been shown as substantially plain,

that is, the bevel IQ of the female die and the l inclination 2| of the male die sleeve 20 are shown as substantially smooth. As is well known, the usual bottle cap or crown is provided with crimping around the annular skirt or flange ll of said t cap. It may be desirable to not only re-shape the cap, as illustrated in Figure '7 but it may be desirable to r-e-forin the crimps in the original p has been explained, when. the; smooth. surface dies are employed, the device .is adjusted soy that the lower end of the: piston 22: strikes ascegms 1711811301) portion lfi of the capmember. to limit any further downward movement. of the:- male die priorto the'time that the sleeve 20 applies sufficient pressure to press out the usual crimp in the capmember; In other words, the adjustmentis such that the marginal edge portion of the skirt 4|: of. the cap is flared or bent outwardly but.- suflicient pressure is'not applied to. flatten our the usual crimping It has-been found. that thisv crimping is sufiiciently rigid to require considerably more pressure than would be. required merely to flare the skirt portion 41. into its orig= inal shape, and it is for this reason: that plain surface dies maybe employed. I

As hereinbefore described, the independent .movement of the piston 22 with respect to the sleeve 20 during the intermediate portion of the stroke of the male die unit is controlled. by the adjustment of the spring 29; However, if desired, the length of the recess 24 may be'such that its co-actionwith the screw 23 will bring about a limitation of the independent movement of the piston or the overall length of the sleeve 20 may be varied. In either of these instances, alimitation of the independent movement of the plunger may be effected and therefore, the invention is not to be limited to controlling the adjustment of such movement by the spring 29.

The male die unit B has been illustrated as actuated by a manually operated lever 34 but obviously, this lever could be connected with a power mechanism which would automatically reciprocate the die unit B. Also, it is not essential that a mechanical actuating mechanism be employed for the unit l3 could be connected with an actuating mechanism operated by air or fluid pressure and it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to any particular means for imparting movement to the male die unit. Further, any method of automatically feeding the caps or crowns G into the female die A could be employed,

Theforegoing description of the invention is explanatory thereof and various changes in the size, shape and materials, as. well as in the details of the illustrated construction may be made, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: v v

1.. A cap reshaping device including, a base having. a female cap diefor receiving a deformed cap, a. sup-port, a sleeve-slidablezin the support and: having: a. die; face on its lower: end for." en gaging the flange: of the. cap: supported: by the fiemale die; a piston; sli'dablefinthe sleeve and .ex-. tendingsahove: and below said; sleeve, a rigid ele+- ment on the piston above the sleeve, a. coiled spring surrounding the piston between said sleeve and said; element a rigid. memberwcone meeting the? sleeve and. piston for: permitting "a limited movement of said pistonrelatiive to said sleeve, and: means connected with the rigid element of the piston for depressing:.said'piston;

whereby: said spring initially"moves the sleeve withthe piston, then saidpiston is depressed relative. to said sleeve when the. depression of: the sleeve is arrested so as. to compress" the spring and upon. compression: of said spring to; a'predeterminedypointa saidsleeve is depressed 'in unison' with the piston to. simultaneously-reshape the cap;

2. A cap reshaping device including a female die'member formed to receive av deformed cap for reshaping, a male die. unit mounted for movement toward and away from. said female die member, said unit including a piston and-a sleeve disposed over said piston and having relative limited movement. therewith and having their free ends formed with die faces: coc'iperat-- ing with said female die member, resilient: means engagingparts of the piston and sleeve and. disposed soas to normally bias the latter toward a. position tending to sheath thefree ends of said piston, means disposed between. the sleeve and piston permitting relative limited movement between the s'ame and to positively prevent complete sheathing, of. the free end of the piston by the sleeve leaving a portion projecting be: yond the sleeve to enter a cap positioned within the female die, and means for moving the 11's..- ton, the resilient means and thereby the sleeve in unison toward and. away from the. female die member whereby upon an initial movement of the unit toward the female die, member -a deformed cap disposed within the latter will first be engaged by the projecting end of. the piston so as. to be alined and centered thereby until the sleeve engages the. flange. ofv the cap. and. con tinued movement of the sleevewill then be momentarily arrested until the resilient means is compressed to. a predetermined. degree, where-' as to project beyond each end of the V RAY H. Essex. I 

